Does television viewing cause violent behavior in young children? Research conducted by Houston-Stein et al concluded that “violent content and high action inspired a continued or renewed interest in the repetitive, aggressive activity and, as a result, children did not turn to other forms of playing , in the way that children did who were not exposed to action and violence” (190). Freedman found out that there is a direct relationship between violent programs aired on television and aggressive behavior (“Psychological Bulletin” 243). Slotsve et al study on television violence found that a child is increasing likely to get into trouble at school if majority of the programs he/she watches contain fighting images/violence, and that television violence make them act aggressively. From the above authors, viewing of violent content on television does cause violent behavior, however, viewing of nonviolent content doesn’t cause violent behavior. I, therefore, seek to defend that viewing of violent content on television causes violent behavior in young children.
Violence in the media has gone unchecked in recent times. As a result, violent previews have increased and even made their way into family films and children’s TV (NAEYC 3). Findings link viewing of violent acts in the media with increased violent behaviors. Incidences in the past have seen children enact violent acts they had watched on television. Unfortunately, some have ended tragically. A case in point is one in which a twelve-year-old boy killed a small girl while mimicking professional wrestling theatrics in Florida back in 2001. AACAP.ORG reports that children are likely to imitate television shows that continuously air violent content. As a result they will exhibit greater aggressiveness. AACAP.ORG further says that sometimes a single program with violent content is enough for an increase in aggressiveness.
Despite this supporting evidence, opposing views have also emerged. Freedman believes that some children are generally more aggressive than others and that it has nothing to do with violent television (“Setting the Record Straight” 4). His explanation is that it is a natural tendency for a generally aggressive child to watch violent content, play and act aggressively. Further, he explains that violent behavior, and aggressiveness in children is determined probably by some genetic predisposition.
This take is very contentious, behaviorists believe that violent behavior and aggressiveness in children is acquired and not wired in genetics. Houston-Stein et al study of 100 pre-school-aged children determined that the kind of television programs children viewed stimulated a correlating behavior. Three groups of children watched respective programs over a period of time. The content was categorized into;
(a) High action - high violent activity
(b) High action – less violent activity
(c) less action- less violent activity
(d) No TV
They defined action as rapid movement of characters and objects (Houston-Stein et al 183). Children who watched High action-high violence content were found to exhibit increased level of physical activity. They were likely to play roughly, get into fights and break toys. Those who watched High action-low violence content exhibited cooperation and concern for others while playing. Those that watched Low action-low violence content were neither active nor cooperative in their play. These findings not only prove that viewing of violent content stimulates aggression but also confirms that positive content encourages positive social behavior.
Works Cited
Www.aacap.org. Web. 1 Oct 2014
Freedman, J. Television Violence and Aggression: Setting the Record Straight. Web. 1 Oct 2014
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (1993). A position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Washington, DC: Author.
Huston-Stein, A. Fox, S. Greer, D. Watkins, B. A. Whitaker, J.(2001). The Effects of TV Action and Violence on Children’s Social Behavior. University of Kansas.
Slotsve, T. del Carmen, A. Sarver, M. Villareal-Watkins, R.J (2008) Television Violence and Aggression: A Retrospective Study. Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 5(1). Pp.22-49
